Le Retour de Tintin

The latest feature in blockbuster animation exploded onto our screens earlier this month, and, I was a victim of its well constructed trailers which continues to leave you wanting more. Oh, and wondering... “Does Tintin have a head in this movie?” The use of medium shots to add the mystery to Tintin’s facial physicality was frustratingly affective and lured me to the doors of my nearest cinema.

I will confess Tintin was by no means my childhood comic of choice; it was not even one in a selection. However, through the years I have encountered various Tintin cartoons, in an entourage of the children’s tv shows of the late 90’s/ early 00’s. I have also since read a comic or two, albeit in the home of a friend, whose bathroom is clattered with Tintin nostalgia (which I have come to understand as normal for French households). I should also highlight these comics were in French, and my level of proficiency in French is... incommunicable and honestly, there is only so long you can spend trying to translate a language, that you have little working knowledge of, in a toilet without the residents of the household becoming curious to your engagements in faecal activities.

However, it was not my love or lack of, for the comic that drew me to this screening, not at all! It was an element of film that typically and frustratingly goes unnoticed. I didn’t go for a pre-pubescent 30 years old detective/ journalist; I went for the writers! With a writing trio including Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish and Steven Moffat who could resist? With a repertoire including TV shows such as Spaced, Sherlock, The Adam and Joe Show and films such as Scott Pilgrim V’s the world, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Attack the Block, it has been continually proven that these guys know their shit!

The cast also provides a reassuring selection of British actors, whose previous acting accomplishments, allow the viewer to (maybe naively) close their eye of acting scrutiny and focus centrally on the visual and narrative construction of the film. To provide a polar to this, the performances of Kieran Knightly usually cause me muscular spasms prior to even entering the cinema.

The film was true to its comic origin, with one particular action scene continuing from action to action to action, just as one would find in a comic. I found it almost impossible to catch my breath, so goodness knows how poor Tintin felt as he was flown from a car upon collision, where upon he grasps a conveniently placed rope which he uses to swing him onto a rooftop (narrowing avoiding imminent death) where after he slides down a poll and so on and so on.  As much as I found it demanding as a viewer, I found the intentions admirable. I don’t remember the intermission in the superhero’s final battle where he/she takes five to catch a breath – though as a smoker and prolific anti-gym advocate, I would have understood. However, the play with comic narrative and film was not for the realistics, it was for the adolescents (where it be physical or emotional).

In line with this, the imagery was picturesque and vibrant. The colours of the film mirrored the basic block colours of the comic whether it be the blue of the ocean or the yellow of the sand, there seemed little intention to personify the film through colour. However, this seemed to contradict the complexity of the animation, it was far from Disney, Pixar or Ghibli that I anticipated on hearing of the film’s production.

Though, it is impossible not to find yourself in awe of the rapid development in animation over the past 10 years, and though this is not the animation of my generation it certainly is for this generation. I am beginning to understand what it must have felt like for the pre-sound generation when the Jazz Singer debuted.However, regardless of my sceptical nature towards “new” animation, I found the film captivating and a little bit enchanting – though that may be my adolescent side talking!